Updated: This article was updated on Dec. 22 to add additional details and comments from Worldcoin.
Worldcoin has "temporarily scaled back" its offline orb verification function for users in India, and the service will be reinstated in 2024, after initial previews.
A five-pound chromatic helmet that scans individuals’ eyeballs to verify their identities, the Orb was conceived by Worldcoin as a tool for onboarding the inhabitants of those regions where traditional ID is not always available.
The company stimulated the offline onboarding process by offering rewards in USDC for local Orb operators. Starting in November, Worldcoin began paying the rewards in its native token, WLD.
According to a Dec. 21 report in Moneycontrol, Worldcoin “silently discontinued” the orb verification process in India “3-4 months ago,” despite the crowds gathering in queues for Orb operators in some parts of the country. However, Tools for Humanity, the foundation overseeing Worldcoin, explained that from the start, the Orb was a “limited-time access” initiative in India, France, and Brazil.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Worldcoin representatives explained that the company plans to open its operation in India again in 2024, following initial previews:
"Orb-verified proof of personhood services have been temporarily scaled back as the protocol works to develop and roll out a bespoke, safe and orderly process that sufficiently meets the demand for World ID in India."
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The onboarding process, which involves gathering private data such as the iris scan, has led Worldcoin into numerous public controversies. Critics have repeatedly suggested that the project, launched by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, is ethically questionable and contains the makings of a “dystopian nightmare.”
Regulators have been skeptical as well. German financial authorities launched a probe into Worldcoin in 2022, while the United Kingdom’s data regulatory body also threatened investigations in the days after the project's launch. Kenya has outright banned Worldcoin’s activity in the country.
In August, security platform CertiK reported a vulnerability in the vetting processes for Orb operators that could have allowed an attacker to bypass the verification process and operate an Orb without being interviewed or having a proper ID.
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